WINFIELD RACING SCHOOL ‘ÉCOLE DE PILOTAGE WINFIELD’ – STEVE HOLE tells the story

Established as ‘Ecole de Pilotage Jim Russell’ by Bill Knight, his business partner and friend, jeweller Arthur Owen and well-known F3 driver, Jim Russell. The business was founded, with help from Gérard ‘Jabby’ Crombac, at Magny Cours near Nevers, France in 1963. Let’s use its correct name ‘Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.

MANY thanks to https://rewind-media.com/2022/02/21/mike-knight-lunch-with-champions/

Mike Knight ran the Winfield Racing School operation at Circuit Nevers Many Cours for many years. The school was founded by his father Bill Knight. Photo courtesy of Eli at Rewind Media

Knight and Owen had collaborated with Russell on land speed record attempts from the mid-fifties and were very good friends. Knight had sent his eldest son, Mike, to Russell’s race school at Snetterton, which eventually developed into the school at Magny-Cours.

The name was changed in 1964 to ‘Ecole de Pilotage Winfield’ when Knight, a Jersey-based land speed record enthusiast, who also owned a kart circuit in Majorca that was also named ‘Winfield’ decided to use the ‘Winfield’ on a corporate basis. Some people have speculated over the years that it was named after a brand of Australian cigarettes. The truth was ‘Winfield’ was Bill Knight’s mother’s maiden name.

When the name changed Jim Russell concentrated on his race school in England. Incidentally, Magny-Cours was built in 1960 by land owner/farmer Jean Bernigaud, a school friend of Crombac. Jean and Mike are said to have got on well.

Winfield became very popular and was the first race school in France when it opened.

Bill Knight co-founded Automobiles Martini with Renato ‘Tico’ Martini in 1965 and unsurprisingly the manufacturer was also based at Magny-Cours and Tico was heavily involved with the running of Winfield. He was their first mechanic before becoming chief instructor.

Over 30 future F1 drivers learnt their craft with Winfield including René Arnoux. Photo courtesy of Eli at Rewind Media

Shell Oils sponsored the racing school from formation until the oil crisis of 1973 at which point Elf took over. It was the French lubricant giant who instigated a second branch

In 1966, Bill stepped away from running Winfield and moved back to Jersey. His son Mike took the helm and ran it until 1973 at which point he moved back to the UK. All was not lost, however, and his brother Richard replaced him. He stayed for ten years until 1983 when (are you keeping up?) Mike, returned.

During those intervening years he’d co-founded pioneering wheel manufacturer, Dymag with the late designer Max Boxstrom (the world’s first diecast magnesium wheels). Over the course of time, the three Knights had also set up and ran a British branch of Winfield at Goodwood Circuit in West Sussex.

By 1998, the school had just ceased to be. There were over thirty future F1 drivers who passed through the Winfield Racing School, some illustrious names such as – Jean-Pierre Jarier, François Cevert, Patrick Depailler, Jacques Laffite, Patrick Tambay, Didier Pironi, René Arnoux, Alain Prost, Christian Danner, Damon Hill, Érik Comas, Olivier Panis and Alain Menu.

The Winfield Racing School (doesn’t the French version sound so much better? ‘ÉCOLE DE PILOTAGE WINFIELD’).

Another batch of pupils at the Winfield Racing School. Photo courtesy of Eli at Rewind Media

In March 2015 Frédéric Garcia and Anne-Charlotte Rémy invested and bought the Winfield Racing School brand and have built it up once more. They are based solely at Paul Ricard (Le Castellet) Circuit. Visit www.winfieldracingschool.com.